All Forum Posts by: Dylan Collier

Good Afternoon,

I was just wondering if any Canadians/ Australians had any luck in the past in Refinancing a property in America. I currently have a rental property that is Cash flowing nicely in Northern Florida that I bought with Cash through an LLC.

It has been successfully rented for 7 months, and I would like to start looking for an additional property. I have set up LLC structures, have a solid bank account in America for a few years, and have a TIN. I am currently working on building credit further in America.

Dilemma. I am able to buy an additional property using Cash, but would like to use leverage in order to further scale my portfolio. My to options are:

1: I could refinance the property that I have, and put that money towards an additional purchase. I don't know if banks would view this as guaranteed assets, vs a unknown property that has no track record. 

or 

2: Using the new property, apply for traditional financing: 
I could also approach the bank with my proof of funds, as well as my assets (Which they may be able to lean against to protect their interests) and I may be able to set up a short term CD in order to "hold" some money over a short term as a secondary guarantee. Hopefully this would be enough to get Bank finance on a secondary property at an interest rate that would not eat all my cash flow. 

The issues: Not being a US Citizen (I do not live in Canada either, so pulling credit from a Canadian based bank I do not believe is an option. I can show proof of employment and salary contracts, but don't know what else the bank would require in this circumstance)

At this point I feel seller financing would be the best approach, but don't want to limit my options. (Also don't want a Hard money loan either as the goal here is for long term buy and holds)

Anyone that has come across similar or that has any creative financing ideas, I would be grateful to hear them.

Thanks again Everyone!

@micheal bereslavsky

 Good afternoon,

I would also be interested to find out if there is anyone who could shine some light on there experience in investing in Panama. I am also a Panama resident, and have been trying to secure some additional properties in America, but it would be nice to keep it closer to "home".  Have you had any luck?

She has not recieved any receipts as she did not want to jeopardize Marg's Social Security by showing rental receipts when she applied for the FHA loan. I am sure they could back track receipts, but she would still be worried on flagging Marg's income stream.

Good afternoon Bigger Pockets;

A friend has come to me with some trouble regarding her house purchase under an FHA Loan, and I am new to these loans, so I thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone else has had a similar experience or can help.
For the sake of this question lets call my friend (Kat) and the seller/elderly lady (Marg)

She (Kat) is purchasing a home off an elderly woman (Marg) in Southern Florida.
She (Kat) has been given pre approval on any other property in the same budget, by 2 different banks, but is having a hard time securing this one as she is currently living in it. FHA is attractive to her due to the down payment size.

So here is the situation;
Kat has known Marg a while, and is getting a good deal on the house.
and by FHA request, she has been living in the house for 6 months before they will consider the loan. (Hear this is standard with these loans)
The elderly woman, Marg, has fallen and can not live on her own anymore. Marg is on Social Security and is living with care.
Kat pays Marg in Cash, in order not to jepordize the elderly womans (Marg's) SS.
The FHA will not accept this, as they want to see proof of rent paid, but the sellers do not want the rent coming in as it could jeopardize their mothers (M) SocialS.

The elderly woman owns the house outright and is quite flexible when it comes to payments and allowing my friend to possibly stay another 6 months in order to satisfy the FHA, but is at that point where she would like to get her estate in order for her will and would not be able to carry financing for a long period.

Is there a way my friend can comply with the FHA, prove income but not jepordize the ladies SS with rent coming in every month? Maybe a trust that the rent could be paid into, where it would not be viewed as direct income for the lady. Seller carry or rent to own to satisfy the FHA.

Is there any general advice, or experience anyone has with something similar?

My friend loves this house, and cannot afford a large down payment at this time making the FHA more attractive.

Thank you for all the support, and look forward to chatting to you soon.

I defiantly understand the diversification, I live out of state so often struggle to find much information on the area. Luckily a co-worker is from the area, but until I get some boots on the ground I am looking to meet some other investors. 

Sorry for the late reply on this thread. I have currently been investing in the Jacksonville Market but am looking to expand into the Alachua/Ocala counties.

@Joe Hines Do you invest from California, or have you relocated? 

If any one has set up a club or meet up I would be interested in meeting some fellow local investors. 

Thank you Eric for your message, this is great information for me. I would have a professional management company taking care of the eviction proceedings as I (unfortunately) live out of state. As a Real Estate broker from Arkansas, you would have a valid insight into these proceedings, so thank you for the insider information.

As a side question, do you know the growth potential of the Washington county? I have not been to that area in years and would love to hear some local (at least state) advice

Good afternoon Samuel,

Thank you for your reply, I will try some smaller banks/lenders as I have seemed to run into a bit of a hurdle with the larger ones in my current target market. Thank you for your advice!

Best regards,

Dylan Collier

Good afternoon Tyler,

Thank you for your response on the thread. Congrats on the purchase of your primary residence. I am originally from Canada, but have been living overseas (Various locations) due to work for the last few years. We (my partner and I) have alot of money saved and a steady job with a great income, but am finding allot of trouble finding financing. We are capable, and willing, to purchase some homes out-right, but I would only wish to do this with our savings if a bank was to consider re-financing so we could use leverage to continue to grow our real estate portfolio. Without being local, it has been a struggle sourcing banks willing to have a chat regarding this. 

I have been looking in both the Texas markets as well as Arkansas. The appreciation and returns on Texas seem favorable but the COC return on the market in Arkansas are also favorable, as the median price is often less. I am on-alert with the MLS directly for some of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but still have yet to find a property that I can look at ignoring the future potential of appreciation. I do know the Texas area more than most states, but without being local currently it is hard to find deals directly on the MLS. I have extensively looked at both San Macos as well as DFW area. Up until now most of my experience has been based overseas, but would like to focus more on America.

I look forward to hearing you opinion. Best regards,

Dylan Collier

Just wanted to wish you luck on the Transition to a full time real estate investor! Look forward to building up some local connections in the DFW area as well.